Recently had a situation where an opponent in a small store tournament measured with a laser line for firing arc after movements and actions were complete, but before it was those ships' turn to fire.

Is there a penalty for this or best way to deal with it?

There's no penalty, other than whatever the TO might impose. If it were me, I'd give them a warning not to do it again. Because you should only check for arc when picking a target to attack.

But on the other hand, I'm not sure there was much issue in what he did however, unless knowing what ship is in arc provides some sort of useful information, there's a point of no harm, no foul.

It could be a bad habit to get into, and someone might call them on it. Could get them DQ'ed from a tournament even.

Warn them once, then call the T.O. on the second offense.

See, the T.O. shouldn't auto-DQ, you're just calling in a second pair of eyes to watch his behavior, but your opponent will have learned that cow horns will hook.

(Nothing specific to shuttles here, that's just an idiom in my family, meaning that consequences WILL occur).

It's pre-measuring out of sequence, and therefore not allowed. Simple as that. A laser is a good way to check arc, but it's use is governed in the same way as the range ruler. One when the arc is required to be checked, not before.

As for penalty, it's a breach of the rules and up to the TO. The best procedure is to inform the opponent that it's a rules breach and he can't do it, and if he doesn't agree, then advise the TO and let him sort it out.

But on the other hand, I'm not sure there was much issue in what he did however, unless knowing what ship is in arc provides some sort of useful information, there's a point of no harm, no foul.

But on the other hand, I'm not sure there was much issue in what he did however, unless knowing what ship is in arc provides some sort of useful information, there's a point of no harm, no foul.

It can inform target selection.

For example, let's say Wedge has two clear shots against an Academy and an Obsidian. The Academy is at 1 health and could be polished off by Wedge's wingman Biggs, but we're not 100% sure Biggs actually has a shot.

If Wedge assumes the worst and murders the Academy, he could be wasting Biggs' only attack for the turn. If he assumes Biggs has a shot and leaves the Academy to him, he could be allowing the TIE to live another turn. That choice is eliminated if the player illegally pre-measures.

It can also inform Actions to take, if you're going that early.

Even if you don't have boost or barrel-roll, it's the difference between Focus and Evade.

Thanks for the feedback. It felt a little petty to bring it up, but it was annoying and I wasn't really sure if he gained any advantage or not.

I tend to let small things go if they don't affect gameplay, but this is at a place I will likely play at again and see the same players.

Recently had a situation where an opponent in a small store tournament measured with a laser line for firing arc after movements and actions were complete, but before it was those ships' turn to fire.

Is there a penalty for this or best way to deal with it?

IF it's a tournament?

When the enemy starts measuring arcs for low-PS ships it means his higher PS ships didn't activate and didn't attack at all. Smack him with that fact. he just lost his chance to fire with aces.

Recently had a situation where an opponent in a small store tournament measured with a laser line for firing arc after movements and actions were complete, but before it was those ships' turn to fire.

Is there a penalty for this or best way to deal with it?

IF it's a tournament?

When the enemy starts measuring arcs for low-PS ships it means his higher PS ships didn't activate and didn't attack at all. Smack him with that fact. he just lost his chance to fire with aces.

It can also inform Actions to take, if you're going that early.

Yes, if someone is checking for arc prior to taking an action there is clearly a problem. I'm in general against people checking for arc until they are in the declare target step.

But if someone does it to me, and they gain no useful information I'm not sure if I'd bother calling a TO over or not. But on the other hand, if they keep doing it, they will so perhaps it's better to nip it in the bud.

Oh god, Goomba really did get a clone...

Recently had a situation where an opponent in a small store tournament measured with a laser line for firing arc after movements and actions were complete, but before it was those ships' turn to fire.

Is there a penalty for this or best way to deal with it?

IF it's a tournament?

When the enemy starts measuring arcs for low-PS ships it means his higher PS ships didn't activate and didn't attack at all. Smack him with that fact. he just lost his chance to fire with aces.

Yes, this is the best way to welcome people who may be unfamiliar with all of the rules into our hobby.

Recently had a situation where an opponent in a small store tournament measured with a laser line for firing arc after movements and actions were complete, but before it was those ships' turn to fire.

Is there a penalty for this or best way to deal with it?

IF it's a tournament?

When the enemy starts measuring arcs for low-PS ships it means his higher PS ships didn't activate and didn't attack at all. Smack him with that fact. he just lost his chance to fire with aces.

Yes, this is the best way to welcome people who may be unfamiliar with all of the rules into our hobby.

If somebody can't understand word expressions and keep breaking the rules?

Recently had a situation where an opponent in a small store tournament measured with a laser line for firing arc after movements and actions were complete, but before it was those ships' turn to fire.

Is there a penalty for this or best way to deal with it?

IF it's a tournament?

When the enemy starts measuring arcs for low-PS ships it means his higher PS ships didn't activate and didn't attack at all. Smack him with that fact. he just lost his chance to fire with aces.

Yes, this is the best way to welcome people who may be unfamiliar with all of the rules into our hobby.

If somebody can't understand word expressions and keep breaking the rules?

People who understand its against the rules, won't do it. People who don't understand its against the rules need to be told it is. Its that simple. People tend not to break rules in games since they are playing a game and the game is made of the rules.

I will admit that I have made a mistake and jumped the gun a few times with measuring out of excitement, but its been a while. I don't think I have seen anyone "keep breaking the rules" after being corrected.

I'd like to point out as well that when you try to premeasure or guess ranges or check arcs, any of that, and you do it with anything but your eyes you are giving me an advantage!

Question. What do you all look at when your opponent measures anything (legally)? You look at his ruler, his template, anything to gain knowledge about the situation. It's more like poker than anyone realizes! Even if you are using your eyes to measure, I can look at your face and know what you are thinking after a long enough time. I play against this one guy, who is pretty good, but his poker face sucks. I can tell when he is going to bring the Phantom in for an attack run because his demeanor changes drastically when he is thinking about different things. If he is plotting a range 1 shoot-up it's pretty easy to tell. All his focus changes to that one ship, even when moving other ships he hovers near his Phantom and is constantly checking and rechecking his arcs. Now while he isn't puling out a ruler, or using a guide, he still has to check that arc to make sure. So when I see him look at that Phantom more than a few times I can predict with certainty what that ship wll do. When he hesitates and steps back to look at the table I don't watch the table I watch him, because how he looks at the board and the facial expressions he makes when considering moves is all the telegraphing I need.

TLDR: Don't measure out of turn, and don't let the other player read you! Getting down to eyeball arcs and moves is like sending your opponent a love letter! Be more like a poker player and play the mental games. Rememer, it's not the ships that win the games, it's the players.

His actions could be one of the drawbacks of casual play. It may have been his first tourney and first foray beyond the kitchen table. Mention the violation (rule book if necessary) and see what happens. After the second verbal warning call the T.O. over.